Glasgow Film Festival today announced its new programme strands for 2016, along with a major new development. The festival, which runs from 17-28 February 2016 and is supported by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Creative Scotland, the BFI and EventScotland, traditionally contains a retrospective of films by a particular legendary star. This year, they’re broadening the focus to see double: Dream Teams on the Silver Screen will focus on classic Hollywood on and off-screen double acts like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Doris Day and Rock Hudson, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, and Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Entrance to all of the films in this strand will be free, and the Dream Teams programme has been specially designed to celebrate friendship, with an eye to cross-generational audiences. The specific films in the strand will be announced with the main programme.

New strand Roads To The South will also showcase and celebrate some of the excellent work currently being created in Argentina, which has seen a renaissance in the past two decades following the politicised realist charge of the New Argentine Cinema movement.

Also new for 2016 is a pioneering film industry programme, GFF Industry Focus, a major step forward for the festival, which to date has concentrated its programme focus more on audiences. Running from 24-25 February, GFF Industry Focus will bring together international filmmakers, funding bodies and industry insiders for a unique two-day seminar within the festival programme which, it is hoped, will offer huge benefits to Scotland’s film and television industry, and to visiting filmmakers from around the world.

Tickets for the Opening and Closing Galas will go on sale on Monday 18 January following an early January announcement; the main programme will be announced on Wednesday 20 January with tickets on sale on Monday 25 January. Fans of the festival are encouraged to become GFF Members this year; a one-off payment of £10 offers exclusive access to advance booking.

COMMENT

Allan Hunter, Festival Co-Director, said ‘Chemistry is everything when it comes to creating the perfect screen couple: when audiences sense that electricity they want to see it again and again. Dream Teams on the Silver Screen celebrates the very finest Hollywood duos, individuals who made cinema history together in unforgettable classics. Meanwhile, the international reaction to films like 2009’s The Secret In Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) and this year’s Wild Tales (Relatos salvages), which premiered at GFF15, has been part of the surge of interest in Argentine cinema and Roads To The South is designed to celebrate the range of bright new talents in Argentinian filmmaking making their mark around the world.’

Allison Gardner, Festival Co-Director, said ‘While GFF’s programme will always put audiences front and centre, we are delighted to be able to host something like GFF Industry Focus this year. Bringing this sort of industry presence to Scotland will hopefully feed into and strengthen the Scottish film industry, creating connections and opportunities, and offering international insight. I’m also really happy that we’re able to offer our Dream Teams programme for free this year: why not make a date with an old friend you haven’t seen for a while, or share an old favourite with a younger family member?’

Ben Luxford, the BFI’s Head of UK Audiences said: “We’re proud supporters of GFF’s vibrant public programme as well as the inaugural GFF Industry Focus, which will bring together industry leaders from around the world to gather in Glasgow with the aim of forging exciting new collaborations that will benefit film in Scotland and the UK more widely.”

GFF16 Programme strands

·                     CineMasters A first chance to catch new works from some of the biggest names in international filmmaking, and a mini-retrospective of the work of legendary French director Julien Duvivier.

·                     Crossing the Line Somewhere between visual art and cinema, experimental films to challenge and inspire.  Bring your imagination. 

·                     Dream Teams on the Silver Screen From Burton and Taylor to Butch and Sundance, we celebrate Hollywood’s starriest double acts.

·                     FrightFest Back-to-back horror premieres to get hearts racing and adrenalin pumping.

·                     Galas Stars, premieres, red carpets – get your glad rags on!

·                     Local Heroes Home-grown cinema doesn’t necessarily mean small-scale, as this showcase of the newest and brightest productions from all over the country proves. 

·                     Modern Families Fantastical, imaginative features and animation to delight audiences of all ages.

·                     Nerdvana Spectacular screenings and heated discussions collide in a celebration of cult classics, gaming gregariousness, and all things geek.

·                     Pioneers First-time and emerging filmmakers from all over the world, pushing the limits of cinematography.

·                     Roads to the South: Argentine Cinema A celebration of the most exciting cinema currently coming from Argentina.

·                     Sound and Vision Exploring the interplay between music and cinema with a specially curated programme of screenings, live music, and events

·                     Special Events Unique and atmospheric venues across the city become pop-up picture houses, as cult classics and old favourites step off the screen.

·                     Stranger than Fiction You couldn’t make it up – weird, wonderful and thought-provoking new documentaries from across the world.

·                     Window on the World Explore the world from your cinema seat with a selection of brilliant international titles.